Well that was easy thanks to Wikipedia
Article 11
The Treaty is notable for Article 11, from Joel Barlow’s English translation, which reads:
“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”
Article 11 has been a point of contention regarding the proper interpretation of the doctrine of separation of church and state. It is generally considered as confirmation that the government of the United States was specifically intended to be religiously neutral. The United States Constitution specifically states that treaties with foreign powers have the force of law.
In 1930, there was contention that the existent original Arabic version of Article was gibberish and that the original Article 11 was not an article at all, but a letter from the Dey of Algiers to the Pasha of Tripoli. This contention arises from the declaration within this article that the United States was never founded as a Christian nation. Nevertheless it is established that Joel Barlow’s English translation of Article 11, as recorded in the certified copy of January 4, 1797, is contained in the version of the treaty that was approved by President John Adams and Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and ratified by the Senate.
There exists an additional certified copy of the original Arabic Treaty made by James Cathcart. This copy confirms that Article 11 was not a part of the Arabic original, but was for some reason revised in the English translation that was ultimately ratified.
The Treaty was broken in 1801 by the Pasha of Tripoli and renegotiated in 1805 after the First Barbary War, at which time Article 11 was removed.
The significance of this article that is often overlooked or ignored is that it stated categorically that the United States of America is not founded upon the Christian religion, and that this treaty, with that statement intact, was read before and passed unanimously by the United States Senate, and was signed by the President of the United States without a hint of controversy or discord, and remains the earliest and most definitive statement from the United States Senate and the President of the United States, on the secular nature of American government.
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Another quality post by Surreal… Original post with links: LINK
FOOTNOTE: While editing this article because of format changes when it was originally written, I have found numerous instances where Wikipedia has been changed and/or edited. CNN has deleted or lost articles from their archives; this is one article written almost three years ago, however, when you add-up the differences, albeit subtle, it indicates that our history is still being re-written, and whether it’s being accomplished by government propagandists or simply people loyal to the Bush administration, the disservice to the public is monumental, and the historical record(s) must be recognized and preserved at all costs. I quoted Wikipedia on numerous occasions in writing the original essay, however, future works will not include these same references. To me, it appears that Wikipedia is being used as a propaganda tool; anyone that researches any given subject, especially as it pertains to the Bush Presidency, must be careful they aren’t quoting propaganda rather then the facts - and every days it’s becoming harder and harder to discern truth from fiction.
The original Timestamp on this essay was May 25, 2006 @ 22:35.
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